2021 Applicants

[semiotic_mess]

8 hours ago, Kapol-in said:

Downside however is that I'm an "alternate for funding" and that they're "working on funding" for me, no idea what this means, it was very vague, but hopefully it all turns out okay...

This is pretty typical for MAs. Since a lot of people apply to MAs as a backup while they also apply to PhDs, usually the first accepted people to get the funding are those who are probably also accepted to a PhD and decline the offer. I know the thought of that kind of stings, but I was in that position too. I was really sad about only getting into an MA and being waitlisted for funding, but I did get off the waitlist plus I was offered a graduate award that bumped up the stipend even more. I also wish I had told myself at that time how much of an advantage an MA is when you apply again. My first round I was waitlisted at 1 PhD program and I was heartbroken when I didn't make it off and then only had the 1 MA offer with no word on funding. Now this cycle I have been doing much better and have an offer from a MUCH better MUCH more well funded program than the one I was waitlisted for. I also feel much more prepared for PhD work where now I look back and think that I would had ad a really hard tike jumping into a PhD (but everyone is different of course). I think an MA offer can sometimes outweigh some PhD offers in the long run, so having this offer is a good thing no matter what. I hope it all works out! 

[queenofcarrotflowers]

Thanks whoever mentioned the severe weather in Texas on the results page, did not realise that was happening. Hope any of y'all affected by it are keeping safe and well.

[mashatheicebear]

17 hours ago, A Small Raven said:

Oh my goodness thank you so much for such a thorough response! I really appreciate it. This is my first PhD admissions cycle, and I don't think I was completely prepared for quite how competitive it would be honestly. I got my MA in England and the application process was very different than I think it is here. Definitely learning a lot this round for my PhD apps. 

@A Small RavenI am not sure what things have looked like in recent years but, it seems to me, based on previous experience, that this year is far more competitive than usual. With so many programs limiting cohort sizes or suspending applications entirely, everyone has been funneled into a smaller pool and the competition for those coveted spots (and funding) is fierce. This cycle, for me, has not turned out at all how I was hoping it would, but it may all be for the best, in the end. Hang in there!

[Lighthouse Lana]

Anyone else following along with the U Rochester Visual Studies drama??? It's super crazy that the department JUST decided to cancel all admissions. I'm just hoping they don't pull that crap with the English PhD program as well.

[Emailchecker]

1 minute ago, Lighthouse Lana said:

Anyone else following along with the U Rochester Visual Studies drama??? It's super crazy that the department JUST decided to cancel all admissions. I'm just hoping they don't pull that crap with the English PhD program as well.

Oh my, do you mean post-application? that's so negligent...having everyone spend so much time, mobilizing so many people to get everything rdy...

Edited February 17, 2021 by Emailchecker

[Lighthouse Lana]

1 minute ago, Emailchecker said:

Oh my, do you mean post-application? that's so negligent...having everyone spend so much time, mobilizing so many people to get everything rdy...

Exactly! And the email said something to the extent of "we need to secure funding for our current students and the job market is so bad that we don't think it's worth it to extend offers this year..." How did this not occur to them in January??? It just seems cruel and you're so right, it's completely negligent.

Oh pandemic, what have you done to common courtesy? 

[lilgreenblatt]

56 minutes ago, queenofcarrotflowers said:

Thanks whoever mentioned the severe weather in Texas on the results page, did not realise that was happening. Hope any of y'all affected by it are keeping safe and well.

It's so crazy...my house is fine but one of my friends in Austin is on day 3 with our power, has only trail mix left to eat, and was taking short intervals of sitting in her car for heat/power to charge her phone. A church close to her opened up it's rec center and she's able to sit inside there now, but it's not very covid safe...sacrificing social distancing for heat.

[harleth]

18 minutes ago, Lighthouse Lana said:

Exactly! And the email said something to the extent of "we need to secure funding for our current students and the job market is so bad that we don't think it's worth it to extend offers this year..." How did this not occur to them in January??? It just seems cruel and you're so right, it's completely negligent.

Oh pandemic, what have you done to common courtesy? 

i heard that Stanford comp lit/the language depts did this a few cycles ago, when they didn't even have covid as an excuse, and i was afraid a bunch of programs would accept applications but not admit anyone this year. glad that i've been wrong for the most part!

[Kapol-in]

5 hours ago, Doc Sportello said:

Congrats!!! ?☺️ That sounds like a really interesting program-- I hope the funding works out!

Thank you! Me too.

4 hours ago, semiotic_mess said:

This is pretty typical for MAs. Since a lot of people apply to MAs as a backup while they also apply to PhDs, usually the first accepted people to get the funding are those who are probably also accepted to a PhD and decline the offer. I know the thought of that kind of stings, but I was in that position too. I was really sad about only getting into an MA and being waitlisted for funding, but I did get off the waitlist plus I was offered a graduate award that bumped up the stipend even more. I also wish I had told myself at that time how much of an advantage an MA is when you apply again. My first round I was waitlisted at 1 PhD program and I was heartbroken when I didn't make it off and then only had the 1 MA offer with no word on funding. Now this cycle I have been doing much better and have an offer from a MUCH better MUCH more well funded program than the one I was waitlisted for. I also feel much more prepared for PhD work where now I look back and think that I would had ad a really hard tike jumping into a PhD (but everyone is different of course). I think an MA offer can sometimes outweigh some PhD offers in the long run, so having this offer is a good thing no matter what. I hope it all works out! 

Good to know, thank you a lot. The thing is about this program is that they don't admit people to the PhD unless they already have an MA in History of Science, though of course they probably have lots of varied situations. 

[queenofcarrotflowers]

33 minutes ago, lilgreenblatt said:

It's so crazy...my house is fine but one of my friends in Austin is on day 3 with our power, has only trail mix left to eat, and was taking short intervals of sitting in her car for heat/power to charge her phone. A church close to her opened up it's rec center and she's able to sit inside there now, but it's not very covid safe...sacrificing social distancing for heat.

My god that sounds awful... glad to hear your house is okay and wishing all the best for your friend 

[LtotheOG]

41 minutes ago, harleth said:

i heard that Stanford comp lit/the language depts did this a few cycles ago, when they didn't even have covid as an excuse, and i was afraid a bunch of programs would accept applications but not admit anyone this year. glad that i've been wrong for the most part!

To echo, Stanford comp-lit did this with me back in 2019, citing “exceptional circumstances”. This cycle, they truly are; no wonder, their MTL rejected me. Has anyone here been accepted?

I did not anticipate that a few programs might just be accepting applications to make money. But from where I’m standing, it sure looks that way. I have also been rejected from Emory CL along with others (as seen on Results) and again, not a single Accepted poster — notwithstanding the handful they take in anyway. This has been happening with quite a number of progs actually; a legit cause for alarm.

Edited February 17, 2021 by LtotheOG

[kirbs005]

17 minutes ago, LtotheOG said:

I did not anticipate that a few programs might just be accepting applications to make money. But from where I’m standing, it sure looks that way. I have also been rejected from Emory CL along with others (as seen on Results) and again, not a single Accepted poster

I think it's fair to say that programs make money of applications every year, since most fees are $70+ and I think it's also fair to say that not all people know about or use GradCafe. Most programs who took applications should have at least a few acceptances. Because those who don't accept anyone, after taking applications without any indication that they wouldn't accept anyone, would/can/should be in at least a little legal hot water as it's extremely exploitive and also fraudulent. I'm sure they could make a case for "there weren't any qualified candidates" but I don't think that would hold up well and they'd get a ton of bad press over it. 

[harleth]

28 minutes ago, LtotheOG said:

To echo, Stanford comp-lit did this with me back in 2019, citing “exceptional circumstances”. This cycle, they truly are; no wonder, their MTL rejected me. Has anyone here been accepted?

someone posted an MTL waitlist today so presumably they've accepted people? i'm kinda operating on a 'hope for the best but expect the worst' basis and just assuming that people haven't been posting their acceptances or they're being sent after rejections for whatever reason (Cornell CL seems to be doing this), but i guess there's no way to know for sure...

Edited February 17, 2021 by harleth
typo as usual

[LtotheOG]

3 minutes ago, kirbs005 said:

I'm sure they could make a case for "there weren't any qualified candidates" but I don't think that would hold up well and they'd get a ton of bad press over it. 

I’m sorry — but hold up well to whom? What press? Who cares, and finally how would I even know if anyone’s been accepted at all (to then not be able to do anything about well, anything)?

[OpenBook]

Well, UChicago's choice to only accept students focused on Black literature caused some right-wing outrage.  It was quickly forgotten, but it's possible to receive a bit of backlash.

[harleth]

8 minutes ago, LtotheOG said:

I’m sorry — but hold up well to whom? What press? Who cares, and finally how would I even know if anyone’s been accepted at all (to then not be able to do anything about well, anything)?

i could imagine this as an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education or like, becoming part of the twitter culture wars (kinda like when UChicago English announced that they were focusing on Black studies/theory), but prob not much beyond that

afaik, when Stanford didn't admit  a few years ago there were no repercussions for them, and i only know about it through word of mouth. i think they offered to waive future application fees for the people who had applied as a weird consolation lol?

Edited February 17, 2021 by harleth

[LtotheOG]

1 minute ago, harleth said:

i could imagine this as an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education or like, becoming part of the twitter culture wars (kinda like when UChicago English announced that they were focusing on Black studies/theory), but prob not much beyond that

afaik, when Stanford didn't admit  a few years ago there were not repercussions for them, and i only know through word of mouth. i think they offered to waive future application fees for the people who had applied as a weird consolation lol?

Yes they did offer that the next cycle. I was already in a PhD program then... so both I and that letter felt oddly out of place.

[LtotheOG]

5 minutes ago, 1 Pint of Ricotta said:

Well, UChicago's choice to only accept students focused on Black literature caused some right-wing outrage.  It was quickly forgotten, but it's possible to receive a bit of backlash.

I think the problem in this case is, no one’s gonna come out and be upfront about something as shady as “not finding a qualified candidate”.
 

Chicago rightly made an announcement, otoh.

[icedwithoatmilk]

I've been seeing some posts on the results page for CUNY English--does anyone's portal still just say submitted?

[queenofcarrotflowers]

Princeton rejection gang lessgoooo

who wants to live in NJ anyway amirite

 

 

(Rutgers admissions committee pls ignore this post)

[brockdenbrown802]

15 minutes ago, icedwithoatmilk said:

I've been seeing some posts on the results page for CUNY English--does anyone's portal still just say submitted?

Mine still says submitted as well! I checked the portal when I saw the notification. 

[LtotheOG]

1 minute ago, queenofcarrotflowers said:

Princeton rejection gang lessgoooo

who wants to live in NJ anyway amirite

 

 

(Rutgers admissions committee pls ignore this post)

??

[kirbs005]

54 minutes ago, LtotheOG said:

I’m sorry — but hold up well to whom? What press? Who cares, and finally how would I even know if anyone’s been accepted at all (to then not be able to do anything about well, anything)?

I'm not saying you would know, I'm just simply pointing out that not everyone uses this website and it would be unfair to jump to the conclusion that if no acceptances have been posted that a program didn't accept anyone. The only way to know is talking to DGS or waiting to see if they announce a class for the Fall. And as we've seen, things have rolled out very slowly compared to past years, and it's still kinda early.

And yes, the majority of people don't care but there was quite the uproar about UChicago English, especially once it was announced they were taking just Black Studies. It's the world of higher ed "press" and the internet who would hold them accountable. I'd also imagine, that they could get in legal trouble if pressed hard enough (and if someone sued for this, defrauding people out of money for grad applications, at a large institution, it would make headlines outside of higher ed)

I'd also imagine that applicants or hopefully students would hold them accountable. If I was a lit person re-applying next year I'd steer far away from Brandeis who dropped admissions at the last second. If they're willing to do that, I'm not willing to attend their program, just my two cents, not trying to pick an argument.

Edited February 17, 2021 by kirbs005

[icedwithoatmilk]

5 minutes ago, catchampney said:

Mine still says submitted as well! I checked the portal when I saw the notification. 

Trying to not let myself get too hopeful about it, but ah well. Fingers crossed for you, too!

[brockdenbrown802]

1 minute ago, icedwithoatmilk said:

Trying to not let myself get too hopeful about it, but ah well. Fingers crossed for you, too!

Yes - same to you!! It's so stressful trying to figure out what goes on behind the scenes... full knowing we can't really, haha! Hopefully good news for both of us